The Road Goes Ever On And On

I’m a big LOTR fan, and as I did this bible study, Bilbo’s traveling song came to mind… “the road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began.” The letter daleth which is used for this octave of Psalm 119. Daleth, along with the He (and very rarely Gimel) is used to represent the Names of God in Judaism. The letter He is used commonly, and the Daleth is rarer. It means door, or curtain to tent. And the first step to getting on the road is to go through the door.

Psalms 119:25-32 DALETH: My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to Your Word. (26) I have declared my ways, and You hear me; teach me Your Precepts. (27) Make me to understand the way of Your Commandments, and I will speak of Your wonderful works. (28) My soul weeps for grief; strengthen me according to Your Word. (29) Remove from me the way of lying; and grant me Your Law graciously. (30) I have chosen the way of truth; I have laid Your judgments before me. (31) I have stuck to Your testimonies; O Jehovah, do not put me to shame. (32) I will run the way of Your Commandments, when You shall enlarge my heart.

My soul clings to the dust… dust in this instance is the same word used in the creation story and used in many other places in the bible. In Leviticus 14:42 it is mortar. In Ezekiel 26:4 it is the remains of the city Tyrus. It is used to describe the multitude of Abram’s descendants in Genesis 13:16. It means complete defeat in 2 Kings 13:7 and humiliation in Job 16:15. Give me life… in Hebrew this is a word meaning to be alive, to live, and to keep alive. It’s not the same word as in Genesis where God breathed life into Adam. Here is it used to describe an ongoing process. We are flawed and defeated, it’s inherent to our nature. But God continually gives us life. His mercy is new every morning. The psalmist grieves for his sinful condition and confesses (declares) it - God hears that and responds as He promised. “Hear” is not just a passive word like someone sitting quietly and listening. It is ‛ānāh (ְלַענּוֹת) which has several definitions. It can mean a simple reply, but it is also used in the Song of Solomon for the lover’s response, in Genesis and Deuteronomy it has legal implications, and it can mean to sing and shout as in a victory song. Our confessions are heard and responded to on several levels. The rejoicing of a lover reunited with his beloved, a fulfilled contract of confession and forgiveness, and a victory against the powers and principalities that encourage us to sin.

…teach me Your Precepts. Make me to understand - having reconciled, we can now ask for even more than simple forgiveness. It is a request to open the door and let us in further, give us more of Yourself. As lovers get to know each other more and more, there is a hunger for information - we want to know all the details about our lover’s childhood and past, what they thought and felt, what molded them into who they are, what they care about or dislike now. And as we learn more and more about the Lord, a wonderful cycle occurs - we understand more about Him until we are filled. “I will speak of Your wonderful works” - the word “speak” in the original Hebrew is first defined as “ponder.” As we meditate on His works, we see the contrast between Him and ourselves. We weep for grief, but “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” and he strengthens us. Our capacity is increased, just like working a muscle strengthens it so that more power is available from it. The cycle starts again, and we continue to be sanctified.

Remove from me the way of lying - is not just a simple request to stop David from telling lies. “Way” is the same word we’ve seen before in the Beth octave of this psalm - a well-trodden road. A lifestyle. We so often spend our time and energy “keeping up appearances” or trying to “save face” that it’s easy to forget that these practices are lies. We’re practicing deception. We’re catering to our pride, and being the opposite of humble. Truth, in “… the way of truth” is a noun meaning truth, faithfulness. In Deuteronomy 32:4 it describes God’s character and actions. It’s used to praise of the Lord and His faithfulness in Psalm 33:4, Psalm 100:5 and Psalm 119:90. David is choosing to emulate God, and he is able to do this by laying the Lord’s judgements before him like a road to travel on, or like a lamp unto his feet that guides his path.

When David asks the Lord “do not put me to shame,” where shame in the Hebrew means not just to be ashamed (of oneself) but also to act shamefully, unwisely, and to experience distress, he’s not asking God to not do something. He’s asking God to do something, that is, to protect him from acting in ways that will take him off the path he’s chosen.

I love the last verse - I will run the way of Your Commandments, when You shall enlarge my heart. David wants to pursue holiness. The more he immerses himself in God’s word, the greater his capacity to do so. And he doesn’t just want to walk the path, but to RUN it.